


Fate

by BansheeQueen92



Series: Soul Survivor [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Dick Grayson Whump, Dick Grayson-centric, Human Trafficking, Hurt Dick Grayson, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Minor Character Death, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Consensual Touching, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Selina Kyle, Protective Team, Sexual Assault, Slow To Update, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Wally West is Alive, Young Justice Season 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:48:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27571030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BansheeQueen92/pseuds/BansheeQueen92
Summary: 21 year old Dick Grayson has made quite the name for himself in the 13 years since he watched his family fall to their deaths on that terrible night at Haly's Circus. He has a wonderful adoptive family, a loving girlfriend, loyal friends, a new job as a cop that he thinks he will be pretty good at, and he is rather good at being a vigilante...mostly anyway. While he will always treasure the memories of his parents, his aunt, and his cousin, Dick has worked SO hard to put the night they died behind him and move on, for their sakes as much as his. But all of that progress comes tumbling down when Bruce tells Dick that Tony Zucco has been arrested and the trial they have been waiting for is finally going to happen.Or: Dick comes face to face with the demon from his worst nightmares for the first time since he was a little kid. Will he be able to overcome this challenge or will someone else have to step in before it is too late and a light is snuffed out in everyone's lives?
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Series: Soul Survivor [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2015335
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sElkieNight60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sElkieNight60/gifts).



> For @sElkieNight60, my first cheerleader in believing that I could do this. It took me longer to get here than I planned but better late than never lol. Thank you for your faith in me! :D 
> 
> (Heads up, long note coming) Ok so first things first: this is my first posted story! Yay me for FINALLY getting something up lol. I say my first "posted" story cuz I have a ton more works on my drawing board, they just aren't ready so they will continue to sit until I have time to tweak them.
> 
> Second thing: I still don't have a lot of time, tis the life of a college student. But I couldn't take not making ANY kind of progress and I really wanted to start with this one since I have the most notes on it so here we are. But this means I may not make regular updates, BUT I will make updates when I can!
> 
> Third: I will NEVER, abandon a fic, these are like my babies and while they make take a bit to finish, as long as you are patient with me we will get to the end of the journey I promise :)
> 
> Fourth: I'm horribly new at this lol. I've read quite a few fics, but I am still new at figuring out tags so please please bear with me. I will always try my best to leave any possible trigger warnings that I can think of in the tags and in the beginning notes so you are aware ahead of time. If I forget something it was just that, me forgetting it, not me intentionally leaving it out out of malice. I want you to enjoy my story safely, so PLEASE, if you think you may be triggered by something you read in my story just point it out to me in the comments and I will try to update my tags (I say try currently because again I'm still figuring it out so I don't want to promise anything until I know for sure I can figure out how to edit stuff). 
> 
> Fifth: I love input, especially since this is my first story. Please help me proofread! I've been reading what I have typed so far several times and I am STILL finding things that are misspelled and it is driving me NUTS! So please, if you think you see something that is wrong let me know, also if you think that way that it is formatted is funky to read let me know. I am learning as I go so I REALLY want to know what you think. I do have the "additional tags to be added later" tag up just in case I do need to add something else, but there will be certain things I leave out on purpose just because it would be spoilers to put them in the tags so if you read something and think "well why wasn't this a tag" that was probably why.

**Speed Force**

**________ __, __:__ __**

_*Somewhere deep within a dark empty void a body of a red headed young man lies motionless. A deep, ancient voice echoes out to him across the void causing him to stir*_

“Awaken Child of Speed, your services are once again being called upon.” The cold and somewhat familiar voice said to him, pulling at his mind and refusing to let him go back to sleep when really that was all he wanted to do. Slowly his eyes began to flutter open.

“W-what? Where am I?” He asked, his eyes now fully open and his mind becoming clearer, he managed to turn over from floating on his back to a hovering-on-his-feet position since there seemed to be no real floor or ceiling to this place.

“We are in the outer edges of the Speed Force. It was necessary for me to bring you here in order to talk to you. And if I am going to be taking you with me that would also be easier to do here than closer to the core.” Hearing the voice again the redhead turned to find it and came face to face with the wielder of the Helmet of Nabu.

“Dr. Fate? What are you doing here? And how did I get in the Speed Force? The last thing I remember was….” his voice trailed off as he put a hand to his now furrowed brow, trying to think, trying to make the memories come back. Suddenly he could hear noises coming from all around him and it caused him to open his eyes again, only to see that the noises were that of his memories being played out all around him. It isn’t long before his head and heart direct him to the memory he needs to see the most, the memory of _that_ day: ***he sees himself get hit by the Magnetic Field Disruptor’s chrysalis energy and winces, as if he can feel it all over again* “It’s no good Barry. Ah man Artemis is** **_so_ ** **gonna kill me for this! And don’t even get me started on Mom and Dad!” *he can hear himself say to his uncle who calls out to him, desperately wanting to help as he watches his nephew become more and more transparent* “Just tell them, ok?” *he hears himself speak up again, giving his uncle one last loving look before a strange feeling pulls at him. That is the last feeling he is able to get from that memory before it goes black, a signal that it is over*** “So I didn’t die?”, it was more of a statement than a question and one he made to himself than to anyone else but it was still loud enough to be heard.

“That is correct Wallace.” Dr. Fate said, startling Wally a bit, who had all but forgotten the league member was even there, his mind was too busy reeling. Seeing his confusion Dr. Fate spoke again, “The chrysalis energy from the MFD simply speed your molecules up so fast that it allowed for a pocket into the Speed Force to be opened, and because of your inexperience with such matters combined with the fact that the chrysalis energy had latched onto you and weakened you, you could not escape the natural pull of the pocket and were pulled in.” His tone was matter-of-fact as he floated before the speedster, who was obviously having some trouble processing all of this.

“H-how long have I been in here?” Wally asked, beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed as more of the memories of his life began to settle back into his mind.

“Approximately two Earth years.” Dr. Fate said simply, silently hoping to himself that this information would not break the boy before he served his purpose.

“TWO _YEARS?!_ ” the speedster shouted, suddenly no longer caring about the thousands of other feelings that had just been swirling around in his mind as he was now focused on that single fact, “Why so long?!” he demanded.

“Actually,” Dr. Fate said, still in the same neutral tone he had been using the entire time, “from what I gather it was originally supposed to be another two to three years longer, depending on how certain events came to pass.”

Wally bristled at this new information, not that he minded getting back to his life and his loved ones ASAP, but he highly doubted this would be happening if it was because of something small. “So what changed?” he asked cautiously, nervous to hear the answer.

“As a Lord of Order I have the privilege to see how futures may or may not come to pass, when I choose to look in on them that is,” the wielder of the Helmet of Nabu began, “but there are times when events change in someone’s future and it reshapes their very fate, setting off a chain reaction in the fates of those around them, this gets my attention. That is the situation that brings me here, the situation I wish to prevent before it is too late. Left unchecked, this could cause the scales of balance to tip too far towards the side of chaos, and that is something that can not be permitted.” 

“What does that have to do with me?” Wally asked a bit confused by Dr. Fate’s indirect information, he really wished he would just get to the point already but he was _definitely_ not about to risk irritating the guy who was promising him a way out.

“The world is once again in need of your heroics Wallace, and sooner rather than later,” he said floating closer to Wally, “both as a superhero and as Wally West, for only you are capable of _truly_ saving your friend.”

This had Wally wide eyed and worried, “Who?” he asked, his mind racing.

Dr. Fate held up his hand and projected an image out of it. It was of a young man in his early twenties with raven black hair, azure blue eyes, a slight tan, and a smile that still held it’s signature combination of innocence and mischief, and even though he had aged a bit Wally was able to recognize the familiar face as easily as he could recognize his own. Although, even from the Speed Force, Wally could tell that there was an underlying pain that those eyes and that smile were trying desperately to hide. The signs were small but they were still there, and that worried Wally. 

“Richard Grayson.” Fate said simply, startling Wally out of his thoughts once again. He knew he had issues with focusing but never this bad, Wally decided to blame it on his little "Speed Force nap".

Getting his mind back on track, Wally stared open mouthed at the image as he felt his heart skip a beat, of all people, it was his _best friend_ in danger. Did it have something to with the pain Dick was trying to hide, or was it a pain he had yet to even experience? Now Wally was REALLY worried. His eyes narrowed as he returned his gaze back to the gold clad hero, “Take me to him.” he said with determination in his voice. The next thing Wally knew he was landing rather roughly on some grass in a wooded area at night. He didn’t know where he was or much about what was going on, but he was going to find out, and he was going to save Dick.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First official "chapter" up! I'm actually pretty happy with it, I hope you guys are too! :)
> 
> Trigger Warnings: symptoms of a panic attack, issues with anxiety, issues with food (Dick doesn't have an eating disorder in this fic, but I can understand how his issues with his appetite can look like one so I'm putting the warning up just in case), mild swear words (I've been around house holds where words like "screw" and "pissed" and such were considered swear words, I'm never sure who considers things what so again I want to be careful). I THINK that's all of them, let me know if I missed anything and I will add it!
> 
> A bit of a key to keep in mind: *"words surrounded by these symbols mean thoughts"*, italicized words are just altered speech: sign language, emphasized words, whispers, etc. Bold (like in the prologue) will be used for flash backs scenes.
> 
> If this is confusing I apologize, I am trying to figure it out so if I come out with a better system I will go back and edit chapters.

**Gotham City**

**September 09, 14:27 EDT**

He slides the key in the lock of the apartment door, humming a tune to some song he heard, he’s not really sure where. It was either on his car radio or on the stereo at M’gann and Conner’s, he doesn’t really care where he heard it honestly, he just knows it fits his current pleasant mood rather well so he keeps humming up to the point where he opens the doors and heads inside.

“Babs?” Dick calls out when he doesn’t her at her usual spot in front of her monitors, “I’m home. Finally.” He says with a roll of eyes and a small laugh, it really had taken _much_ longer to get the new kids started with their training than he had anticipated. Things had run on so long that he had resigned himself to accepting M’gann’s offer to let him stay at their place long enough to get a nap in before heading home.

He had just set his duffle bag on the kitchen island and was walking over to the fridge when he hears a familiar voice come from behind him in the direction of the single bedroom in the apartment, instantly causing him to grin and turn around.

“I know that you know that that doesn’t go there,” Barbara says pointing to his duffle bag from her position in the doorway of the bedroom with a playful smirk on her face, “It’s dirty, and my kitchen island is not.”

At the sound of her voice, Dick’s smile only grows. He knows he must look like a loon at this point but he can’t find it in himself to care, she tends to have that effect on him. He has always considered being anywhere near Barbara Gordon the best part of his day. He really needed to get on with asking this girl about moving in together, living in his Bludhaven apartment while she lived in her Gotham one was just _way_ too far apart in his opinion. 

“My apologies my Lady” Dick said as he bowed to the glory that was Barbara, and after seeing what she could do as her new Oracle identity she definitely deserved the praise, “I will remove the offending item at once.”

He grabbed the bag off of the island with a laugh and went towards the bedroom to put it in its designated spot in the closet, but of course he could not pass by his girlfriend that he felt lucky for every day and not give her a kiss. 

Dick leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, slowly at first to gauge her mood, but when he felt Barbara run a hand into his hair and press his face a little more into hers he knew that they could turn it up a bit. He could feel that she had missed him just as much as he had missed her. As Barbara pulled away from the kiss a contented grin settled itself upon his face.

_*“My home is wherever you are.”*_ Dick thought to himself as he looked at Barbara, realizing just how true that thought was, as long as he had her he felt like he could handle anything. She was his rock in every storm he’d gone through. She always had a different way of tackling problems than Bruce or any of Dick’s other friends. Barbara had a logic and a way about her that made him feel safe and sane long before they had become a couple.

“Troll.” Barbara said as she smacked Dick on the arm, snapping him out of his thoughts. The playful smirk was back on her face and her eyes stared up at him in amusement from over the rim of her glasses so Dick knew that she meant it in a teasing way,

“But I am _your_ troll.” Dick chuckled as he gave her another quick kiss. Barbara rolled her eyes but laughed in return despite herself.

“And don't you forget it,” she said as she returned the kiss “Now go put your stuff away. Did you have lunch yet? I made my chicken salad earlier if you are hungry.”

Dick’s eyes widened with interest at the mention of the chicken salad, “The one with the grapes and cashews?” he asked eagerly.

Barbara chuckled at his excitement, “Yes, that one. I guess that means you’re hungry.”

“ _Starved_ . I ate dinner and breakfast with M’gann and Conner, there was no way that they were going to let me get away with not eating, especially M’gann,” Dick said as he made his way into the bedroom. “But breakfast was like, _hours_ ago, we didn’t even get to sleep in today even after the kids well after midnight,” he called out from where he was, Barbara assumed, just tossing his duffle bag into the closet instead of instead of actually putting it away. It was fine, at least it was out of the way, she would give him a chance to get to it later after he had rested a bit before going after him with her beetle drone. 

“You poor thing, we need to hurry and get some food in you or you’ll waste away,” she teasingly called back to him. Despite her teasing however, she was happy that Dick’s appetite had climbed back up to a healthy level. She knew it was one of the first things to suffer when he was stressed or depressed, and recently he had been quite a bit of both. And she knew that Dick had his reservations about forming this new team, especially when it came to anything to do with leading it, but she believed it could be good for him. Dick Grayson was not a soul meant for such...isolation, and Barbara knew she could only do so much.

“You joke but watch, if I don’t eat now I’ll be skin and bones before dinner and then you’ll have to face Alfred’s wrath,” Dick said as he reappeared from out of the bed room and by Barbara’s side once more, he had taken the time to ditch his jacket and had swapped out the black shirt he had been wearing for his comfy Superman t-shirt that Clark had given to him as a gift.

Barbara had figured he would do as much, so she had taken the initiative to roll a bit further forward into the living room so that she was now next to the couch instead of by the bedroom door so that at least it wasn’t as cramped. Although who was she to complain if she found herself in a tight space with her boyfriend who she hadn’t seen in _much_ too long. But that was an issue she was going to have to solve later, she had a hungry acrobat to feed.

“Oh no, not the wrath of Alfred!” she gasped in mock horror, “Anything but that!” she said as well as she could while laughing. While the true wrath of Alfred was definitely nothing to laugh at, both of them knew that the man was not going to come after Barbara if Dick skipped a meal, if anything Alfred would go after Dick for not practicing the proper self-care that had been drilled into him.

“Then lead the way to the chicken salad and _maybe_ I will share.” Dick laughed and gestured for her to go on ahead of him. Barbara loved the sound of his laugh, she would never get tired of hearing it.

They had made their way into the kitchen and Barbara retrieved the serving bowl of chicken salad, while Dick started gathering the necessary items to set the table with, deciding to go with the small salad bowls over the plates this time. No sooner had the two set everything down on the dining area table, the items not even arranged in a way that could be used yet, that there was a knock at the door. Barbara and Dick looked at each other in bewilderment, a silent conversation passing between the two. 

_“I wasn’t expecting anyone, were you?”_ Barbara quickly signed to Dick, and in the back of their minds they were both taking a second to be grateful that learning ASL had been a required part of their Bat-education.

Dick furrowed his brow, shook his head, and quickly signed back, “ _No, I wasn’t,”_ and looked from her to the door and back again, the previously happy mood in the room now switched out for a more tense and suffocating one.

Barbara put a finger to her lips as a signal to Dick to remain quiet and motioned to him to follow her as she silently rolled to her monitors near the edge of the kitchen. She found herself adding the soundless wheels of her chair to her Things-to-be-Grateful-For list as they made their way across the room, sparing glances at the front door as they went.

Barbara turned on her monitor and began entering in the commands to bring up the security camera that she secretly had had installed over her front door. Ever since the day the Joker had shot her and she had wound up in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down with little hope of ever getting the use of her legs back, she vowed she would never be caught off guard like that again. 

The feed from the security came up and Barbara nearly slumped in relief, “It’s our dads,” she said to Dick with a laugh that sounded a bit crazed even to her own ears so she could only imagine how Dick would hear it. She took a few deep breaths to calm her still-racing heart, only then realizing that Dick hadn’t responded to her. Barbara turned her head to face him and saw that he was staring intently at the security feed, and that he was still _extremely_ tense. He seemed to even be angry, and that wasn’t an emotion she saw on him too often outside of combat. 

Barbara followed his line of sight to the monitor to try and understand what could be going on beneath his stormy expression. It took her longer than it should have given her genius IQ level, but once it clicked she very nearly rolled her eyes as she felt her own irritation begin to manifest. Dick was hyper-focused on the fact that her father was here. Of course he was, the man had not exactly made his feelings towards the former boy wonder a secret since she had gotten shot. 

Jim Gordon been an extremely loyal ally to the whole Wayne family up until then, but the second she ended up in the ICU her dad made it very clear to both Bruce and Dick that he not only knew _their_ secret identities, but the identities of the entire Bat Clan and that the only thing that had stopped him in the past from outing them had been friendship and then the fact that Barbara had joined their cause. But he had also made it clear that he would not stand by as they got her killed. Jim had given the entire Wayne family the ultimatum that unless they stayed away he would reveal who they were to the media and the police force. 

Barbara had been _pissed_. She had gotten all of both of her parent’s stubbornness and used it to its fullest effect when she told her father that if she outed the Wayne’s and tried to keep her away from Dick just because of something that could have happened whether any of them were vigilantes or not then she would out herself too and take her chances as a disabled person in prison. 

Jim knew she wasn’t bluffing and backed down, but the relationships between everyone had been changed, especially with him and Dick. He had told Barbara multiple times since that he didn’t like her dating him when before he had approved greatly of the relationship. That was why the two men were seldom in the room together and surprise visits _never_ happened, the fact that one was happening now meant nothing good.

Barbara and Dick heard another knock at the door. They could see from the feed that it was Bruce doing the knocking while Jim was standing behind him, keeping his eyes trained down. It was clear to see that he was extremely uncomfortable and was either dreading being there, whatever he had come to tell them, or both.

Ever the eternal peacekeeper, Barbara decided she would answer the door, a tense Dick Grayson within striking distance of a Jim Gordon whose purpose for coming had yet to be revealed could still end up in disaster.

_*“Heavy on the dis,”*_ Barbara thought to herself as she rolled over to the door, she paused before opening it to shoot Dick an encouraging smile over her shoulder, but he simply just shook his head and looked away as he moved further into the kitchen, putting the island between him and anyone who would come into the apartment. 

Barbara grimaced at the obvious comfort tactic that she had thought and hoped Dick had gotten over, to see him need it for their own _parents_ made her heart drop. But she knew that Dick had to set the pace for when he wanted to come out and if she were to try and join him unless he invited her he may feel crowded and boxed in. She was just going to have to let him be for now, and if Bruce had a problem with that in all of his mother-henning ways she would just run over his feet with her wheelchair and then he wouldn’t be able to get to Dick.

She opens the door and greets the men. “Gentlemen, what a _pleasure_ to have you both here,” she says completely straight-faced despite the fact that her voice is practically dripping in sarcasm. They both showed up to her home unannounced and caused Dick to feel uncomfortable in what she has been trying to have him feel was his home too, Bruce and her dad are both lucky she’s not full on snarling at them because she’s tempted to.

“Hello Barbara,” Bruce says, looking every bit as uncomfortable as her father but at least having the decency to meet her eyes, “May we come in? It’s important.” 

Barbara scoffs and rolls her eyes, “I would assume so if it brings you both here. And _unannounced_ ,” she stresses and takes a moment to enjoy the fact that she has caused both the Dark Knight to break eye contact and Great Commissioner Gordon to flinch, it was her one major rule of her house for them since the fight and they broke it.

“Come in,” she says at last with a sigh, already feeling done with this even though they are just beginning, “Just make sure you wipe your feet on the mat,” she calls over her shoulder as she rolls away from the door so they can follow after her. 

She makes her way to the corner of the island by her monitors, both blocking that way into the kitchen and taking up a close-but-not-too-close position to Dick so that if he wants her she can get over to him quickly. Barbara resists the urge to fidget with the hem of her purple tank top, one of them showing their nervous tendencies is enough for the moment.

She hears the door shut and the scuffs of feet being scrapped against the welcome mat and she knows that Bruce and her dad have officially entered the apartment. She takes their momentary distraction to really take stock of them. 

Both men look like they have just come from the office. Bruce has ditched tie at some point but he is still in his charcoal gray suit jacket and pants, with a nice white button down dress shirt that somehow still looked crisp despite the fact that it was hot outside.

Her dad looked like the heat had gotten to him a bit, at least to the point where he had taken off his trench coat, that he always on him no matter what the weather was, and draped it over his right arm. Jim still kept his eyes on the ground, determined to not meet anyone’s gaze but that didn’t stop Barbara from seeing him. His light blue button down dress shirt was still tucked into his black slacks but it was stuck to his skin. She guessed he had spent some time in the field today.

Bruce finally noticed where Dick had stubbornly rooted himself in the kitchen and frowned, but thankfully didn’t say anything on the matter. Instead he stayed right where he was, not moving any further into the apartment.

“I do apologize for that, to both of you, I really do,” Bruce said meeting Barbara’s gaze again, he couldn’t exactly meet Dick’s, Dick was avoiding eye contact as much as her father was, “I had contacted Dick to see where he was going to be after coming home from Happy Harbor, but I never told him why I wanted to know, or that we would be stopping by. It was extremely deceptive of both of us, we can acknowledge that, but the situation has forced our hand.”

“What ‘situation’ Bruce?!,” Dick spoke up suddenly, causing Barbara to nearly jump, she could tell Bruce was surprised by the outburst as well as his eyes snapped over towards his son, “Do you mean the situation where Jim _once again_ tells me about all the ways that _I_ got Babs shot and I’m a ‘danger to her’ or some other bull! Never mind that she can flip me over her head, while having her sight obstructed, _SINCE SHE’S BEEN PARALYZED!_ She doesn’t need your protection _or_ mine, and I’m _not_ her ‘protector’, I’m her partner. I’m her _friend_ . Just like I’ve been since we were kids. And I’m whatever else _she_ needs, and if I’m having a hard time she tries to be what _I_ need. But all you both see is all that’s gone wrong and now you’ve come here and -”

“Dick,” Jim said softly as he finally raised his gaze to meet Dick’s, “Breathe, please. I know I’ve given neither of you reason to believe me but I promise you, I’m not here about your relationship. In fact the reason I haven’t been by in awhile is because I was realizing how misplaced my feelings were, I just didn’t know how to start with an apology or if you two would even want to hear me out. But we can go over that another time, what we came to talk to you about is more important at the moment. May we sit?.”

Barbara looks over at Dick, completely caught off guard by her father’s change of heart. She really hoped he was being genuine, she knew that time had a way of giving people perspective and she hoped that that was the case here, she was tired of choosing between her boyfriend and her dad, it made her heart hurt. She could see that Dick looked just as baffled, his expression looked like a computer stuck on a loading screen so she realized she was going to have to handle the talking until things finished computing in the world of Dick Grayson.

She turned back to Bruce and her dad, “Sure, let's head over to the dining table, it has the most room. Are either of you hungry? We were getting ready to eat some chicken salad, and I used one of the frigidaire serving bowls with the ice in the bottom that Alfred got me so it should still be cold,” she said as she rolled over to the table and put her hand on the bowl, which was thankfully still cold. Most of the ice in the compartment was melted but it had served its purpose.

“Alfred will be very pleased to see that his gift has served you so well,” Bruce said with a small smile as he pulled up a chair towards the opposite end of the table, leaving just one seat open between her and Bruce on her left. She knew what he was doing, even though Dick had been irritated with his dad he would still be more comfortable sitting next to him and Barbara than next to Jim. Her dad obviously knew this too and went towards the seat on her right.

Jim put his coat on the back of his chair as he too sat down, “It looks great sweetheart, thank you,” he said quietly and with a strained smile, she returned the smile with one of her own. Things between them weren’t fixed, even if he was being genuine, but if he was then it would take effort on all sides to get it fixed.

The quiet scrape of a chair against the floor alerted her to Dick joining them at the table, bringing with him two more bowls, spoons, and cups. Once he sat down she watched him practically glare a hole into the table to avoid looking at Bruce.

She worked her hand into his tightly clenched one, “Eat. Everyone, eat. Whatever you came to say can wait until _after_ lunch.”

“I can’t Babs” Dick said in a small whisper, “I’m too tense, my stomach won’t take it now.”

Barbara gave his hand a squeeze to match the way her heart clenched upon hearing that, “Please, just a small serving,” she said in a tone matching the one he had used, “You said you hadn’t eaten in hours, I don’t want your blood sugar crashing.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Bruce had tensed up, she knew that he had heard their whole conversation despite their hushed tone, the table was tiny. Screw him, Dick was her priority, he hadn’t been lying when he had said that they both worked to be what the other needed and right now he needed her to be his nutritionist, borderline nurse, and even therapist. She needed to make sure he ate healthy, that his health didn’t tank unexpectedly, and that stress or other triggers weren’t the cause if his health did suddenly take a dip, and if they were then they would take the steps to work through it. It was nothing he hadn’t done for her, especially when she’d had to adjust to life in a wheelchair. 

Dick nodded a yes in reply and reached for the bowl, after spooning a single serving of the salad into his bowl and then handed it off to Barbara. She resisted the urge to sigh, she did tell him he only had to eat a _small_ serving.

After Barbara, Jim, and Bruce all got their servings they started eating. The meal was had in silence, but it wasn’t totally uncomfortable, there was a slight feeling of tension but nothing compared to what there had been in past experiences. 

Once lunch was over Jim offered to clear away the empty plates. Barbara thanked her dad while Dick sat quietly with a troubled look on his face, obviously lost in thought.

“No one is in trouble right?,” he asked after a moment, looking up at Bruce, “No one is hurt?”

Bruce shook his head, “I promise no one is currently in any danger or has any injuries,” he said as he met his son’s gaze and answered in a voice that was completely his own and without a single trace of the Batman Growl. This wasn’t the time for Batman, this was the time for Bruce to have a conversation with his child.

Dick heard the honesty in his voice and instead of being reassured, it only made him feel worse, “Then what’s going on Tata? You’re honestly kinda freaking me out here,” he could feel Barbara squeeze his right hand, he knew that he’d been worrying her by falling into a lot of his old habits and using his mother tongue at that moment was another. It was on days like this he realized just how many stress ticks he actually had.

Bruce grabbed Dick’s left hand and gave it a squeeze as he saw Jim return to the table, whether or not the man had actually finished with the dishes he didn’t know or care, his sole focus was on Dick.

“Jim called me earlier today saying he received word that the Gotham City District Attorney had managed to arrange the extradition of a prisoner from another state and that they had needed a police escort,” Bruce started out slowly, never once taking his attention away from Dick, “When he heard who the prisoner was he figure that I would want to hear about it from him instead of some stranger from the courthouse or on the news.”

“Well who was?,” Dick asks impatiently, his eyes darting back and forth between Jim and Bruce. Somewhere inside himself he thinks he already knows, which is probably why his heart rate is speeding up, but he is still hoping against hope that they will say _any_ other name.

Bruce looks at him with such impossibly sad eyes and Dick _hates_ it and _loves_ it at the same time because it both crushes his denial and makes him feel comforted and safe all at once. But gods did he ever want to hold on to that denial just a little bit longer.

And because it seems like they want to make extra sure everyone in the room knows who they are talking about, Bruce decides to clarify by saying the bastard’s name out loud, “Tony Zucco.”

And well hell, just because Dick thought he was prepared for it doesn’t mean it didn’t hit him like a bucket of ice water to hear that name again. He doesn’t know when that man became the Voldemort of his life but he supposes someone murdering most of their family and then trying to them would have that effect on a person. 

He’s pretty sure Bruce can tell that he is spiraling because he has been trying to tug his hand free of Bruce’s but Bruce is still holding firm. Bruce does that whenever he’s afraid his oldest bird’s flight reflex will get stuck in panic mode and he won’t know how to come back on his own. That worry is not unfounded, his panic once took him all the way to Smallville. Thankfully the Kents never minded unexpected company.

Barbara, the godsend that she was, managed to keep focused and approach the situation like she would have any other when she was Batgirl, and was continuing to do so as Oracle.

“Filing for extradition from another state would need to be for a big, guaranteed win case, something bigger than whatever the other state has going on,” Barbara said warily, “I’m guessing that you called Bruce to tell him more than just the fact that Zucco is going to be in town, right dad? He committed a _lot_ of crimes, but I don’t think any were as...high profile as Dick’s family’s. As far as I’m aware that’s also the largest homicide he ever committed at one time as well. A quadruple homicide supersedes a lot.”

Jim nodded at his daughter and then looked to Dick, “She’s right, I called to warn your dad and all of you that Zucco is finally being put on trial for what happened to your family. I know you’ve been through this song and dance before kid, but this time it is going to happen. And I know we’ve had issues between us, I haven’t helped any before now to make them right, but regardless of any of that I would never wish any of you any harm, even if my rants made you think otherwise. And I definitely don’t want the likes of Tony Zucco getting anywhere near you Dick, I made you a promise when you were a kid to help you put him away for good and I’m going to keep it.”

Dick tried to take a few deep breaths as he felt the reality of the situation settle down on him. This was a good thing wasn’t it? It had been everything he ever wanted as a kid: justice for his family. But this was also the man that haunted _so_ many of his nightmares, the man that scared him both in and out of his mask, the man that _gave_ him a lifelong fear of falling he hadn’t had before meeting him, and the man that almost took away a lifelong love of flying which tied him to his family and everything he was. 

If they were bringing up the old trial, and telling him about this at all instead of just putting him in a protective bubble of ignorance until it was over then it was for a very specific reason, and now that Dick had calmed a bit he could guess what it was and it had tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

“You still want me to testify against him at the trial?” he asked both men, though it was more of a statement than a question. He could feel his inner child rising up within him in a mix of emotions, all the same emotions he had felt the first time he had been asked to testify. Fear at facing Zucco again and having him succeed in killing him like Zucco had killed his family, rage for what Zucco had done, determination to get justice...they were all fighting each other for dominance.

“We _need_ you to testify Dick,” Jim pleaded, “You are still our key witness. You may not be the only one who witnessed his intimidation tactics, Jack Haly did too, and he’s always said that he will find a way to fly here from wherever he is at the time when it came to Zucco’s trial. But Dick, when it comes to seeing Zucco actually sabotage the lines, all we have is you.”

“How soon would I have to testify?” Dick asks nervously.

Jim sighs, already knowing that the boy isn’t going to like the answer, “They would like you down at the courthouse on Friday morning to give your initial statement, if you can’t make it then they’ll have to reschedule you for Monday since they aren’t open on weekends and they won’t be happy. Technically they wanted to see you tomorrow but I told them you wouldn’t be back in town until today and I told them to give you at least _some_ time to adjust,” he says as he rolls his eyes at the absurdity of it all.

“ _FRIDAY_?!” Dick practically shrieks, again trying to pull away from Bruce, and again Bruce doesn’t let him, Dick’s heart rate is speeding up again beneath his palm and Bruce doesn’t like it one bit, “Why so soon? Didn’t you just call Bruce today?”

“I did. Dick I’m sorry, we should have clarified, I may have only called Bruce today but Zucco was brought in _days_ ago. He’s been in town since Monday, I’ve up to my eyes in paperwork so it took me forever to get a hold of him.”

“It wasn’t all Jim’s fault,” Bruce rushes to interject when he sees Dick’s expression becoming stormy, “I had several meetings and Jim had tried to reach me but when he would call I would have my private phone on silent and my non-emergency calls be told to call back.”

“And Dick, as extremely important as this is, I didn’t think it qualified as an emergency call so I never asked them to push it though,” Jim says, “So the soonest we were able to find a day in common to talk was today, which thankfully also happened to be the day you came back.”

Dick sits in stunned silence, his emotions have been all over the place since this conversation started and he’s not sure how much more he can take. He happened to glance at the clock on the wall and his eyes about bulged out of his head, it was just about 2:30 when he got home, and now it was only a little after 3:40?! How could so much have taken place in so little time, he didn’t understand it, it made him feel even more anxious for some reason.

Suddenly everything is just too much, Dick feels like it’s getting harder and harder to breathe. He still feels the grips of both Barbara and Bruce on each hand but they are no longer grounding, He can’t stay sitting anymore, he needs to move and he needs to move _now_ . He shoots Bruce a look that says if he doesn’t let go of Dick’s hand this time Dick will _make him_ let go, and they both know he can. Bruce looks _very_ much like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t and lets go of Dick’s hand.

The look Dick gives Barbara is much softer, even pleading, before he can even get a word out to ask her she is giving him a soft smile, “Just take your phone with you okay? And please be careful, I’ll send my drone with you if I have to,” she says in a tone that comes out more worried than threatening.

“I will, I promise, I just need some air. All of this is just…” his voice trails off as everything comes roaring up to the surface all at once and he can _feel_ himself right on the very edge of bursting into tears.

Barbara nods her head in understanding and tugs his hand to pull him in for a quick kiss, he goes with the pull, the kiss isn’t anything big, they both know he isn’t in the mood for it at the moment, just a quick peck on the lips as a sign of support from each other, that the no amount of craziness thrown at them will tear them apart. Barbara gives his hand a final squeeze and lets him go.

Dick stands up and walks quickly towards the bedroom to grab his things, he had put his phone on the charger when he had come home so thankfully it was right by his jacket and his keys and his wallet were still in his jacket pocket.

No one says a word as Dick comes back from the bedroom, visibly closer to tears now that he is closer to his escape, they simply watch as hustles out of the apartment and shuts the door behind him.

“Well that went well,” Barbara bites out to the two remaining men before turning her attention solely on Bruce, “You are _not_ to follow him, understand? This isn’t our night job where we can hide behind our masks and use our compartmentalization skills to act like it doesn’t bother us, this is personal. You just told him that the man that changed his life in the worst way is in town and that it’s pretty much all on him to make sure he goes to jail for the rest of his life. Forgive him if he needs a minute or several to himself to fall apart, I was there the first time we did this and he certainly did then.”

“Of course he’s entitled to be upset about this, I would never say otherwise. I just want him to be in a safe place while does so,” Bruce let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if the idea of the next topic was bringing on a headache, and it probably was, “Zucco has been in town for _days_ Barbara, and Dick is a key witness, I would like to say that I have faith in our legal system to not leak anything but as your father can tell you first hand, not everyone in Gotham is a stand up citizen. This will get out, if it hasn’t already, and it won’t just be the paparazzi that come after Dick when it does.”

Barbara nodded her head before letting out a sigh of her own, “Have you contacted your friend in witness protection yet? You know Dick is going to ask when he’s back in his right mind.”

Jim spoke up before Bruce could, “He contacted me actually, Dick’s uncle might not have seen anything involving the sabotage or the intimidation but as a survivor of the incident itself he has always been listed as a critical witness so they know about Zucco’s arrest. He’s already on his way back to Gotham, should be here tomorrow afternoon actually.”

Barbara smiled softly at her father, “At least there is one silver lining coming from all of this, Dick will get to see his uncle again. He’s missed him like crazy.”

The three of them then fall into a light conversation, each of them knowing that they are just trying to pass the time until Dick returns safely without going insane.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dick didn’t have a destination in mind, he just left Barbara’s apartment and just started walking. He doesn’t get very far, maybe a couple of blocks he thinks, before he hears a car’s honk coming from behind him while he’s waiting for the crosswalk signal to change so he can continue on.

He ignores the car at first, assuming that the honking had been for someone else, but when it honks again and this time it sounds like it coming from right next to him he carefully turns around, and when he does it’s all he can do to keep his jaw from hitting the ground.

  
“What are _you_ doing here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did y'all think? I want to point out, in case it's not obvious, that I have NO knowledge of the criminal justice system so I am literally BSing as I go lol. XD Did you guys catch the little Romanian insert?? I know it was just a tidbit for now but there will be more. I am going with Dick is a Romani born in Romania/has Romanian parents and was still born abroad in Haly's International Circus and he will speak Romanian and observe some of the Romani traditions. I have a few reasons for this that I will explain later as the fic goes on.
> 
> I'm pretty proud of myself for getting this chapter out in a week, that was my personal deadline and I was able to manage it. I will TRY to get the next chapter out in the same amount of time but no promises. My history final is due on Dec 17th and it's a 6 page essay. 
> 
> And I want to wish everyone an early Happy Holidays! I'm on the West Coast of the US and we have Thanksgiving coming up in a few days but I know that we are all a mixed bag here so whatever you celebrate I hope that you are safe and happy! 
> 
> So tell me what you guys think! Like I said this is my first fic so I am learning as I go so I would LOVE to hear from you and learn from what you have to say. And if you feel kind enough, drop me a kudo too, they really make my day. :D


	3. Author's Note: Sorry I'm Taking So Long

I want to start off by saying that I have not abandoned the story and I will never abandon any future story that I write no matter how long it takes me to get it done. I am SOOOOO sorry that it has been over a month since the last time I posted a chapter. The next one IS coming and I REALLY hope to have it done before the end of the year. I am honored that people have been checking out what I have of my story and have been liking it and so you deserve an explanation of what has been going on. To summarize; this past month has been INSANE. When I last posted a chapter I was still dealing with my fall semester for college and that didn't end until the 17th of this month. I tried to work on the next chapter and my finals at the same time but that REALLY didn't work and I almost didn't finish my finals in time. Yeah, multitasking is not my thing lol. And then about 2 weeks ago I got an amazing call asking me to start working as a Paraeducator as of January 12th, I am OVER THE MOON! I am majoring in Teaching and Archaeology so to get a job as a teacher's aid is literally the first step towards my dream. But even though the job doesn't start until January there are things I have to do in the mean time to get ready for it and it's kept me a little busy. I was emailed A LOT of paperwork that I don't completely understand and am having a hell of a time trying to figure out so I can fill it out and send it to them. I also had to be fingerprinted and some other things that required making appointments and waiting hours to in various offices to get them done.

And then there were the holidays. As I am writing this it is Christmas and the last time I posted a chapter it was just before Thanksgiving. The holidays are hectic for pretty much everyone, just as a norm, but both my parents and my fiancé's parents are divorced and so some years there are a LOT of people to squeeze in and this year it was just more than I wanted to deal with because it is the first holiday season without my mom's adoptive dad. I have a hard time around Christmas anyway because my dad's mom's birthday is December 26th and this will be the 7th year without her but that doesn't make it suck any less so missing both my Nana and my Grandpa just majorly bummed me out and kinda killed my writing inspiration. I also thought I might have to fly out to Alabama for awhile (I live in California) because my mom's birth father was really sick and we thought we might need to be there for him but THANKFULLY he is doing much better and my aunt has it under control so YAY for small miracles, I will friggin take any I can get!!

The past couple of days my family and I have just been chilling out, not really boycotting Christmas, but just doing it informally because that feels a little easier. It was homemade lasagna and the Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer movies at my mom's house on Christmas eve and today it was pizza and the Santa Clause movies and then Annabelle's Wish with my dad because Annabelle's Wish was my Nana's favorite and we always watch it on her birthday but he wasn't able to get the day off and I will be with my fiancé's family. It was nice and easy, I missed people at both places but not as painfully as I thought I would.

I hope to get back to writing by Sunday because honestly it's been my best outlet and the response I've gotten from you all so far has been better than I thought and I really don't want to let you all down. The next chapter going up is "Chapter 2" so to make up for me being so slow I will give you a bit of a spoiler for "Chapter 3" (at least it should be in that chapter as long as I organize it correctly). There are 3 characters that will be hinted to that will show up at some point in the series (could be in this story, could be in the next one, that part I will not tell you), if you manage to guess the character correctly I will tell you so and officially add that character's names to the tags.

I hope you all have been well and have enjoyed the holidays with your loved ones. I know this year hasn't been what any of us wanted but we have to make sure we don't take what we still have for granted. Be safe everyone, call your loved ones often and let them know you're thinking of them, even if it is just to talk about the small stuff, and take the time to find joy wherever you can. I will keep working on the next chapter and once it is done I will put it up in place of this note.

See you again soon,

BansheeQueen92 

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Concerns? I want to know them ALL!! <3 Thank you in advance for any kudos!


End file.
